Charleston Classic bracket revealed

The Florida men’s basketball team will open the Charleston Classic against Saint Joseph’s on Thursday, Nov. 21. The game will tip between 1:30-2 p.m. following the conclusion of the 11:30 a.m. contest between Miami and Missouri State.

The Gators will take on either Miami or Missouri State on Nov. 22, whichever team’s Day 1 result corresponds with UF’s.

The other half of the bracket’s first-round matchups Nov. 21 are Xavier vs. Towson at 7 p.m. followed by Buffalo vs. UConn.

The final day of action will be on Sunday, Nov. 24, with the championship game slotted for 8:30 p.m. on ESPN.

The tournament, which takes place at TD Arena in Charleston, S.C., will be televised on ESPN networks with specific channel designations to be announced later.

All-tournament tickets for the Charleston Classic are on sale now. Fans can purchase discounted early bird Premium Lower Chairback seats for $140 (regularly $150) or Lower Bleacher/Upper Level for $105 (regularly $120) through August 9. All seating for the Charleston Classic is general admission separated into those two tiers.

Single-session tickets will go on sale in October, pending availability. Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance as Premium Lower Sideline tickets have sold out before October the past two years. Tickets are available at www.CharlestonClassic.com or by calling the College of Charleston box office at (843) 953-2632.

Florida holds a 2-1 all-time record vs. Saint Joseph’s, most recently a 74-63 victory at Mohegan Sun in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament on Nov. 21, 2015, in Mike White’s third game as the Gators’ head coach.

As for UF’s potential Day 2 opponents, the Gators are 46-24 all-time vs. Miami, including 1-1 under White. Most recently, UF bettered the Hurricanes at the Advocare Classic in Orlando, 65-56, on Nov. 27, 2016. Florida has met Missouri State once previously, a 54-53 NIT win in Gainesville on March 20, 1986.

3 COMMENTS

It is awful for the Gators. I very much would like to go but iff UF wins I would need to take off work Thursday, Friday AND Monday. This is a classic example of TV ruining the experience for the in-the-seats fan. Wanna know why attendance sucks? Look no farther than the perversion of clock stoppage for TV. Apparently the SEC just does not care. If you want butts in the seats for football and basketball, quite pandering to TV!

Around here (in Hogtown) few fans get into college basketball until after bowl season. However, I am genuinely excited for this upcoming Florida Basketball season. It is going to fun to watch (fingers crossed). The tourney will be good for the team’s ”on the road” gelling and camaraderie.
Go Gators! Just win baby!

I remember that 1986 game against what was then referred to as SW Missouri State, mascot the Sugar Bears. Back then an NIT berth got the school excited. There was a big controversy over an 18 win UK team getting into the NCAAs and Gator team with a similar record and a win over UK not getting in, but Florida was still excited about the NIT. Keep in mind that the NCAA field had only recently expanded to 64 teams, Florida had never made the NCAAs, and the three point shot was in its introductory phase. Florida wound up making it to the NIT final four that year, and the Sweet 16 in the NCAAs next year. After that the program started heading downhill. Coach Sloan was fired. Back in the 80s, Florida had a bad habit of hiring coaches fired from ACC schools for NCAA violations. The death penalty was hanging over the basketball program. Don Devoe, a former Tennessee coach was hired as Sloan’s replacement. He managed to alienate the entire team, student body, athletic department, strangers who walked by him on the sidewalk, people who never met him, and everything turned to pooh until Lon Kruger was able to turn it around.